VIEWPOINT

Winning seven Golden Globes is a miraculous feat in the film industry, but the success of “La La Land” doesn’t stop there.

Damien Chazelle’s modern-day musical continues to captivate audiences, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took notice of its beauty, nominating “La La Land” for 12 Academy Awards. One of the awards “La La Land” is in contention for this weekend is Best Original Music Score. The film’s composer, Justin Hurwitz, has created musical mastery with a nostalgic sound that is refreshing to ears engulfed in a contemporary cacophony. Continue reading →

Should schools be more skeptical about integrating technology into the classroom?

By Kara Conley, Current Staff

In 2017, when people think of school they no longer think of books, but computers.

Technology in the classroom is changing the way teachers must educate their students and the way students learn. Some students have evolved in their academics due to the increased technological use, but not everyone feels it is for the best. Many teachers and students at the West Bend High Schools acknowledge the value of technology, but are also aware of its downsides.

There’s nothing like watching the same story become a completely different one in a matter of moments.

“Right Now, Wrong Then,” a South Korean film that played at this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival, differentiates itself from those in its genre with the original idea of blending the same story into two separate ones, transformed by adjustments in a few subtleties. Continue reading →

“Kaili Blues,” a movie playing at this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival, is a terrific work of art that evokes emotion and engulfs audiences with an emphasis on visualization. I was entranced by the images floating across the screen as a complicated story unfolded in front of my eyes. Continue reading →

Students with a negative balance in their lunch accounts are turned away

By Kara Conley, Current Staff

Rules are rules, even when it comes to lunch.

Lunch provides a small amount of time for students to enjoy food and conversation in the middle of the day. However, some students are unable to share in the food part due to the hot lunch policy regarding account balances. Continue reading →

Starting in the fall, current WBHS juniors will meet their third head principal.

Principal Bill Greymont announced his resignation on Jan. 22, effective at the end of the school year. Greymont became head principal just before the start of the 2014-15 school year, replacing Jim Curler, who left for an administrative position in Slinger. The West Bend School District will now begin searching for another head principal. Continue reading →

VIEWPOINT

Hallway Etiquette: A Beginner’s Guide

By Maggie Kieser and Kara Conley, Current Staff

It is seventh hour on a Friday afternoon. It has been a long week and patience is non-existent. All you want to do is get to your last class, and you are so close, but an obstacle is lying ahead. You turn onto the X hallway, the most crowded hallway, and the slowest of walkers is in front of you. You begin to worry that you are never going to make it to your class a mere three doors down the hall. After what seems like hours, you arrive to your class just before the bell rings wondering how hallway walking became such an issue.

Is there no decency among the students of West Bend regarding hallway etiquette? Continue reading →

Tammy Lascelle, a special education teacher at East, has created a yoga corner where students can learn one or two poses before heading to class.

Lascelle offers students some yoga lessons in the U hallway between periods three and four during passing time, but only a few days each week. It’s a way for her to interact with students and create a more joyful environment. Continue reading →

For many students, high school seems like continuous standardized testing. But students have actually been assessed this way since elementary school.

“High school, for the first time, is really experiencing what elementary school has been doing for the past 20 years,” said Bill Greymont, WBHS principal.

The next set of Gains tests will be taken the week of April 6-10. Different subjects will be tested each day. Sophomores will take the Aspire test April 28-29; freshmen will take it April 30 and May 1.

Greymont addressed why students are taking multiple standardized tests each year in an early March interview with The Current. He explained the purpose of these tests so students can understand why they need to be taken, from the administration’s perspective. Continue reading →

The rumor mill was in full force following last week’s student-led protest march. The Current staff writers Kara Conley, Miranda Paikowski, and Mike Smale separate fact from fiction.

Rumor: The march was a success, as it led to the school returning to seniors the right to create a wall mural and attend the Every 15 Minutes program in spring.

Fact: The riot did not result in these decisions. The official decision to once again make both juniors and seniors the attending classes for the Every 15 Minutes program was made prior to the hall pass uproar. “I had been thinking of changing the participating grades from juniors and seniors to juniors and sophomores. This was simply a proposal, and I was already leaning towards keeping it the way it has been,” said Ralph Schlass, assistant principal, in an interview with Miranda Paikowski. According to Schlass, he had decided a few days before the riot to have seniors participate once again. This announcement, although made on Thursday, was not related to the march whatsoever. Continue reading →

Students and teachers don’t always agree about the value of online quizzes

By Kara Conley, Current Staff

This fall WBHS students were introduced to a new district-wide online application called Canvas, where they can see upcoming assignments, tests, and quizzes for their current courses. Continue reading →

West graduate Mary Woldt was among the first students to attend the twin high schools

By Kara Conley, Current Staff

With all the talk of combining East and West High Schools, it is easy to forget that they used to be one.

Mary Woldt, a West Bend West alumnus, was part of the first class to experience the West Bend High School as two. In 1970, when the current design was implemented, she was an incoming junior who feared what this change would do to her and her friends. Continue reading →